{"product_id":"1954-topps-181-mel-roach-milwaukee-braves-rc","title":"1954 Topps #181 Mel Roach Milwaukee Braves RC","description":"\u003cdiv style=\"max-width:800px;margin:0 auto;font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#2c2c2c;line-height:1.6;background:#ffffff;border-radius:12px;overflow:hidden;border:1px solid #e0e0e0;\"\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 1. GRADIENT HEADER ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"background:#1a1a2e;background:linear-gradient(135deg, #13274F 0%, #CE1141 100%);padding:35px 30px;text-align:left;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"display:inline-block;background:#b51e36;background:#EAAA00;color:#ffffff;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:2px;text-transform:uppercase;padding:6px 16px;border-radius:4px;margin-bottom:14px;\"\u003e 1954 TOPPS · VINTAGE ROOKIE \u003c\/div\u003e \u003ch1 style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:28px;margin:0 0 8px 0;line-height:1.3;\"\u003e 1954 Topps #181 Mel Roach \u003c\/h1\u003e \u003cp style=\"color:rgba(255,255,255,0.9);font-size:15px;margin:0;\"\u003e Milwaukee Braves · Infield · Card #181 · Base · VG \u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 2. INTRO ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"padding:25px 30px 5px 30px;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"font-size:15px;margin:0 0 20px 0;\"\u003e You are buying the \u003cstrong\u003eexact card pictured\u003c\/strong\u003e — the 1954 Topps card of Milwaukee Braves infielder Mel Roach, card #181, his first Topps issue. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 3. LEAD TRUST BLOCK ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"padding:0 30px;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"background:#f0f5fc;border:1px solid #b3cce6;border-radius:8px;padding:16px 20px;margin-bottom:14px;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 6px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;letter-spacing:0.5px;text-transform:uppercase;color:#1565c0;\"\u003eTOP RATED PLUS SELLER · 18,000+ ACTIVE LISTINGS\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#3a3a3a;\"\u003eSame- or next-business-day handling on every order. Each card ships in a penny sleeve and rigid holder inside a protective mailer, from a smoke-free home. 30-day returns, and any question gets a real answer from the owner, not a script.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 4. WHY THIS CARD MATTERS (REQUIRED) ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"padding:0 30px;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"background:#fdf2f2;border-left:4px solid #b51e36;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;padding:16px 20px;margin-bottom:22px;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 6px 0;font-size:15px;color:#b51e36;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy This Card Matters\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;color:#4a3a3a;\"\u003e This is a genuine 1954 Topps card — the set with the dual-image design, the portrait beside the action cut-out, that collectors have chased for seventy years. Mel Roach is on it because the Braves had just signed him out of the University of Virginia for a \u003cstrong\u003e$15,000 bonus\u003c\/strong\u003e in July 1953, and the back says why: he led the Virginia team with a \u003cstrong\u003e.366 average, 5 home runs and 17 RBI\u003c\/strong\u003e, after hitting .349 with 5 homers and 21 RBI there in 1952. His printed major-league record is five games and two at-bats with no hits, because at the time of printing that was his entire professional career — the stat line footnote reads “No previous experience in Organized Baseball prior to 1953.” Born January 25, 1933, 6'1\" and 190 pounds, home Richmond, Virginia. The Inside Baseball cartoon panel notes he was also quarterback on the Virginia football team, and the card famously misspells it “quaterback”. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 5. ITEM DETAILS TABLE ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"padding:0 30px;\"\u003e \u003ctable style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:14px;margin-bottom:25px;\"\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#faf6ec;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;width:34%;\"\u003ePlayer\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eMel Roach\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#ffffff;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eSet\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003e1954 Topps\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#faf6ec;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eSubset \/ Insert\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eBase set\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#ffffff;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eCard Number\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003e#181\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#faf6ec;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eSerial Number\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eNot serial numbered\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#ffffff;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eTeam\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eMilwaukee Braves\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#faf6ec;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eAttributes\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eVintage base card, first Topps issue\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#ffffff;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eRaw, ungraded, and \u003cstrong\u003ethis card is Very Good — please read before buying, and price your expectations to a seventy-two-year-old card\u003c\/strong\u003e. Left-to-right centering runs about 55\/45. Top-to-bottom is badly off at roughly 15\/85: the blue printed area runs essentially flush to the top edge with a wide bottom border. All four corners are rounded and soft with visible fibre fraying, worst at the upper right and lower left. Edges are soft and fuzzy throughout with lifted fibres, most pronounced on the right. There is heavy overall toning — the border reads tan rather than white — with \u003cstrong\u003ethe most obvious discoloration on the upper-right border\u003c\/strong\u003e. No creases, no paper loss, no pin holes and no writing. The back is toned but fully legible. Honest, presentable, well-loved vintage.\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003ctr style=\"background:#faf6ec;\"\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;font-weight:bold;\"\u003eSport\u003c\/td\u003e \u003ctd style=\"padding:11px 16px;\"\u003eBaseball\u003c\/td\u003e \u003c\/tr\u003e \u003c!-- Add rows as needed (Parallel, Cert #, Print Run, etc.). Maintain strict #faf6ec \/ #ffffff alternation from the top. --\u003e \u003c\/table\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 6. VALUE BLOCKS ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"padding:0 30px 10px 30px;\"\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #b51e36;background:#fdf4f4;padding:14px 18px;margin-bottom:12px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 4px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:#222;\"\u003eMarket-Informed Pricing\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;\"\u003ePriced from verified sold comps on this exact card and this exact version, not from asking prices or guesswork. Best Offer is enabled and every reasonable offer gets a look.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #1565c0;background:#f3f7fc;padding:14px 18px;margin-bottom:12px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 4px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:#222;\"\u003eProfessional Imaging\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;\"\u003eHigh-resolution scans and photos so you can inspect corners, edges, surface, and centering yourself. What you see is what you get.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #e65100;background:#fdf6f0;padding:14px 18px;margin-bottom:12px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 4px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:#222;\"\u003eSecure Shipping\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;\"\u003ePenny sleeve, top loader or card saver, team bag, and rigid protection in every shipment. Packed right, shipped fast, from a smoke-free environment.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #2e7d32;background:#f4faf4;padding:14px 18px;margin-bottom:12px;border-radius:0 8px 8px 0;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 4px 0;font-size:14px;font-weight:bold;color:#222;\"\u003eThe Real 1954 Topps — Not the 1994 Archives Reprint\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:14px;\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e1994 Topps Archives reprinted the entire 1954 set\u003c\/strong\u003e, same design, same card number, and those reprints sell for a fraction of the original. This is the genuine 1954 card, printed on period stock with the vertical \u003cstrong\u003e© T.C.G. Printed in U.S.A.\u003c\/strong\u003e line up the right edge of the back and no year in the copyright, exactly as 1954 Topps backs read. It is not autographed, not graded and not a 1954 Bowman card — Bowman issued a competing set that year and the two get confused constantly.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c!-- ========== 7. BRANDED FOOTER ========== --\u003e \u003cdiv style=\"background:linear-gradient(135deg, #1a1a2e 0%, #16498c 100%);padding:28px 30px;text-align:center;\"\u003e \u003cp style=\"color:#ffffff;font-size:22px;font-weight:bold;margin:0 0 4px 0;letter-spacing:1px;\"\u003eINFINITE CARDS\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"color:rgba(255,255,255,0.85);font-size:13px;margin:0 0 10px 0;\"\u003eCards, Collectibles \u0026amp; More — Shipped Fast, Packed Right\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp style=\"color:#f5c518;font-size:18px;margin:0 0 8px 0;letter-spacing:3px;\"\u003e★★★★★\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cspan style=\"display:inline-block;background:rgba(255,255,255,0.15);color:#ffffff;font-size:12px;font-weight:bold;padding:5px 14px;border-radius:16px;\"\u003eTop Rated Plus · 18,000+ Listings\u003c\/span\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e \u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Infinite Cards","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54511596241171,"sku":"roach-topps-181","price":3.75,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0798\/8592\/6675\/files\/1_b40b95a4-9f46-4536-9bc0-b63af178be61.jpg?v=1785380739","url":"https:\/\/www.tradingcardsmarketplace.com\/products\/1954-topps-181-mel-roach-milwaukee-braves-rc","provider":"TradingCardsMarketplace.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}